After my last post I got talking to lots of people about bringing back the magic of Christmas.
A Christmas tradition!
And it seems like I am not alone in needing a bit of “none 3 for 2 offers”, “don’t give a stuff that sam at school is getting an itouch”, or “mum why can’t I just have money!?” proper family filled Christmas Magic!
You know that kind of belly tickly excitment of Christmas eve night, or the lovely warm feeling of cuddling up on the sofa with the family after a giant Christmas dinner, listening to your mum snore softly(that might just be my mum), jeans top button undone through sheer stuffedness! (again, that might just be me !)
The kind of lovely magical Christmas feeling of happiness that starts at the tips of your toes and radiates everywhere.
Ahhh it did exsist didnt it?,
I’m sure I didn’t just imagine it or see it in a film, I felt it once…..
I know apart from the obvious religious significance Christmas has always had alot to do with stuff, but not to the exstent it is now.
I remember my christmas lists had things like five star’s new album(sad but true!), my little pony’s, rainbow bright, and roller blades.
Jack’s on the other hand sounds like the Curry’s catalogue! Full of stuff like new mobile phones, lap top, ipod touch, tv, new nitendo ds …oh and lets not forget the “surprise gifts” he’d like too….
He’s nine!!!! I hate to tell him but about the only surprise he’ll be getting is that whatever he gets will be none of the above!
Christmas Jack!
It all just seems a bit hollow when its all about the stuff.
Bring back a proper Christmas! The kind of christmas we all remember from childhood, our qiurky christmas traditions, in my family’s case its gold Dallas dresses and matching hostess trolleys (read previous post for details!)
But I think we all have them, Big j used to go to his grandmas for Christmas dinner and on the dinning room table was always a train track and train zoming around as they ate, how fun does that sound?!
And then there are the other weird traditions we all have, like getting up at 6 am to peel sprouts (the only day of the year most of us will ever eat em!). Or rolling tiny sausages in tiny bacon “blankets”, I mean when you really think about it that’s just adding insult to injury if your a pig!
The Christmas crackers filled with useless jokes we all find funny and little bits of tat like mini sewing kits or metal money clips. All usless stuff really but on Christmas day they are little bits of treasure to swap and gloat over!
I think this year I want to remind my own kids that there is just so much fun to be had whether you get the “stuff” or not, so join me lovely people in a campain to bring back the Christmas magic!
Spill the beans on what funny Christmas traditions your family had and how you celebrate the big day.
I am sure it will cheer us all up and give us all ideas on how we can bring back our own christmas magic!
Merry Christmas!
i love ur post helen, we had christmas like that when we were young, we used to get a sock(my dads) with shinney new 1p and 2p peices, a very shinney apple that mum and i would shine on cristmas eve and a orange. Because there was three of us, we would take it in turn’s to have a main present, so every three yrs was my turn. and u can imagin the excitment i felt. could u imagine if we did that with our kids? i think my mild mannered ben would go loopy. and jake would never speak to us again. lol
im with u bring back the magic of christmas, cos somewhere over the last 15yrs it has been replaced with the entire argos catalouge as christmas list, and parents getting in to debt to pay for it, i may add i have spoiled my children this yr, but i haven’t once put anything on my credit card, which gives me great pleasure, and lets just hope my boys don’t wake me up at at 3.30am like last yr. xxxx
I am determined that the boys will know the magic of a true cristmas, I am trying ahrd not to over commericalise it and anyway it is not as though we can afford it.
TBH The best part of Chritmas for me is all being together as a family. We have lots of family activities planned nad I know the boys will love them all.
I refuse to go in to anymore debt for Christmas and people will have to like it or lump it. My best presents were not new, but they were new to me, a grifter bike, a sindy house and a petite typewritter. Not all in the same year, but I smiled and smiled and smiled.
My little girl is too young to appreciate christmas this year so I’m not really buying her much but we are going to involve her in all the traditions and she is already helping me to open my advent calendar (a chocolate-free, charity one, no less).
My best christmas memories are of the afternoon walk to nowhere in particular with a belly so full of food you can hardly move. By the time you get back you have room for more! I love it cos its normally cold and miserable but its quiet as theres hardly any traffic and loads of other people out walking, all really cheerful and willing to say ‘Merry Christmas’.
I also love giving and receiving the little things such as the obligatory chocolate coins and a piece of fruit. You can’t send fruit to the US so this year I sent my sister a photo of a satsuma. If you’ve got a satsuma, who needs anything else?
The other thing is the ‘drink’ before christmas lunch. I remember many many moons ago trying a sip of my dad’s annual glass of sherry and being disgusted! I think the whole family can gather together in that peaceful time while theres little else to do but wait for the food to be ready.
To me the big memories of childhood christmasses aren’t the presents.
Christmas is not Christmas without a Terry’s chocolate orange. So long as that’s there, I’m happy.
I remember being allowed to take one toy with me to church, and I don’t remember there being that many to choose from! In fact, as Emma says, the memories are certainly not the presents. That being said, my favourite bit was handing around the presents as the baby of the family – all our pressies were under the tree, and I would sit with them as master of ceremonies, dictating what people would open next!
New PJs and new (or kept for best) clothes were always a must, and we’d all get smartened up after pressies to go to church (now, we haven’t done that bit for years…) whilst mum cooked dinner. And then we ate, and played, and generally just spent quality time with the family (and the TV!).
Now we have Moo, we’ve had various discussions about what we should do at Christmas, and whether we should have our own family Christmas. But I couldn’t bear not to be with my family – that’s what Christmas is all about! So instead this year we are, as we have done every previous year, having 2 Christmases – one with each family – and lying to the kids about which day is actually Christmas day…
Belgian Christmas is not about presents at all, so it was always about family. I think it’s a bit of a shame that my in-laws have changed that now (they’re British) but we still do the big presents for Sinterklaas, so it’s not as bad.
Hi Folks! Thanx sooo much for leaving your Christmas Magic stories!
The terry’s chocolate Orange story brought back lovely memories that I had forgotten about. Sitting on my dad’s knee sharing his chocolate orange, I never got one. He would only ever give me one or two pieces (as i had loads of selection boxes!) and his always tasted better than any choc ever!!!
I am so glad you all agree with the big presents thing, now just have to convince the kids that they really dont want a lap top and play station 3 all they really need is a warm family Christmas!
Yes, all kids reallly want (what we all want ) is family and good friends at Christmas – not expensive presents. If they wanted expensive presents why do they play with the boxes instead, or leave gifts untouched for months. I can’t wait to see the look on 3yo’s face this Christmas – and I know the best smile will be for the cheapest, tackiest stocking filler!
Hi, I love reading your posts, some bring tears to my eyes… we are just now getting the magic of Christmas here on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia, with the hot weather and sunshine, it now feels like home after 4 years. We have had Christmas all over the world, although the kiddies were babies when we did most of our moving. They really have a feel for it now and we did tonite what we have done every year where ever we live, is get in the car and drive from street to street, marking the decorations out of 10, its such fun…
I hope you have a lovely Christmas this year too. All the best. Susie x
Thanku so very much for your comment Susie! the thought of you reading all the way on the other side of the world is just sooo cool!!! And the drive by decorations marking is such a funny idea, defo going to try that one! but on foot…I can’t drive ;D x